


Summer of 2019

by EDM4276



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-03-17 17:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18970018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EDM4276/pseuds/EDM4276
Summary: A collection of one shots for the summer of 2019.





	1. Figuring Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post Ep for the finale of Season 16.

“Hey,” Ellie said quietly as she stood in front of her partner’s desk, “Want to go get dinner? I’d like to talk.” 

He looked up at her, half afraid, half hopeful, “Yeah?” He asked softly, “Really talk?”

“Really talk,” Ellie confirmed. Nick breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been waiting for, hoping for, this.

“Okay…want me to come over? Bring dinner?” He had a feeling she’d feel more comfortable in her own space. 

Ellie looked at him, eyes bright, but determined, “I don’t mind coming to your place, Nick,” she told him. 

“No worries,” he said firmly, “See you in about an hour?” 

“Sure,” Ellie said, distracted, not even asking what he was going go bring for dinner. Despite everything, Nick smiled to himself. He knew she must be distracted to not be thinking about dinner. 

Nick knocked on Ellie’s door just after six, take out carrier bag in hand. He’d settled on Chinese, and when she let him in, he spread the containers on her kitchen island while she grabbed plates and utensils. 

They ate at her island, sitting on bar stools. Ellie played with her food, occasionally taking a sip of the beer she’d grabbed for each of them from her refrigerator.

When Nick finished, and indicated he didn’t want any more, she cleared his plate into the dishwasher, then covered hers and stuck it in the refrigerator for later. 

“You’re really not hungry?” Nick finally spoke, unable to take it anymore. 

“No,” Ellie said quietly, “Come sit?” She asked, gesturing to the couch. They sat, cross legged, facing each other, leaning against opposite arms of the sofa. 

“So what’s up?” Nick asked, starting to wonder if this conversation was going to end up working in his favor at all. 

“I’m sorry, Nick,” Ellie said, forcing her voice to be slow and clear. 

“For…?” Nick asked, thinking he knew, but also thinking that he needed to hear her say the words before they could both move on. 

“For not trusting you. For asking you if you killed her. I knew you didn’t, Nick. Deep in my heart, I knew. But me being me - I had to be analytical, to use my head first. I didn’t even consider how much that would hurt you before I asked and Nick, I’m so, so sorry.” 

“Okay,” Nick said, “But one thing, Ellie, before we talk any more about this. Do you trust me? Now? Do you really, truly think I could do that to someone - no matter what state I was in?”

Ellie took his hands, linked their fingers together, held tightly, “No,” she said softly, “The Nick I know - the Nick I love, and trust, with my life, would never do that. No matter what state he was in.” 

“You trust me with your life,” Nick whispered, “But what about your heart?”

“Yeah,” Ellie was even quieter than he had been, and he had to lean closer towards her to hear her properly, “Yeah, I do.” His sigh reverberated through her where their hands were still linked, and he leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes softer than Ellie had ever seen them. 

“So are we doing this, El? For real?” 

“Yeah,” Ellie confirmed, “Yes, we are. For real.” She closed the five inches of space between them, and he met her in answer. Ellie felt the kiss all the way down to her toes, and she could have kissed him all night, but he gently let her go, keeping his arms around her and his forehead against hers as he did so. 

“You know I want to, El,” Nick reassured her when she sent him a look of confusion at his stopping proceedings, “But this is you. It’s us. I want things to be different with you, because you’re it, for me.” He didn’t think she’d be too scared to hear that tonight. She’d said love first, after all. 

She pursed her lips, but nodded in understanding, “Okay,” she said, leaning forward, kissing him one last time, “Okay. So what do you want to do now?” 

“Movie?” He asked, “And do you maybe want to eat now?” 

“You know me too well,” Ellie smiled, getting up, realizing that she was finally hungry, “You choose the movie.” 

 

Nick flicked through netflix, settling on “Bodyguard” rather than a movie, loving the fact he knew Ellie well enough to know she was hungry, know what she'd want to watch, and that it lined up pretty closely with his own preferences. He still wanted to date her though - it would be too easy to skip all the steps because they knew each other so well, and he wanted them to do things right.


	2. Dinner Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie and Ziva finally get to hang out. Sometime in early fall 2019, after whatever is going to happen to Gibbs has happened.

The heat and humidity had burned off after that afternoon’s storm, so Ellie found a table outside at the Alexandria cafe where she and Ziva had agreed to meet for a late dinner. She watched the sun set over the Potomac as she waited, contemplating the last week. Having secured Gibbs’s attempted murderer into Leavenworth Prison, the team was enjoying a brief reprise while Tony, Tali, and Ziva relocated back to DC. Gibbs would be going on what they were all calling, for the time being, “extended leave.” Tony had agreed to come back as team leader, while Ziva would take the still vacant position at the international desk, which would allow her more regular hours to be home with Tali. Ziva and Ellie had finally found a free evening to have their long awaited dinner.

Ellie looked up as the door from inside the cafe opened. As it was later the place was mostly empty, since the crowds had headed for the bars on Main Street. Sure enough, Ziva, unmistakable with her long, dark hair and exotic features, came through the doorway. 

Ellie got up to greet her, and Ziva gave her a hug, saying, “Sorry I’m late.” 

“No worries,” Ellie said, sitting back down, “How are things at home?” 

“They are okay,” Ziva said, sighing a little, “Talia is still convinced I am going to leave her again. I’m late because we were trying to get her to settle, and she was upset I was going out.” 

“Understandable,” Ellie sympathized, “But difficult for you.” 

“Yes,” Ziva agreed, “And Tony. He’s an amazing father. I never would’ve guessed…” She trailed off, smiling a little wistfully. 

“You’ve known Tony a long time,” Ellie commented, “I guess you’ve both changed a lot.” 

“Twelve years,” Ziva said wonderingly, “Yes, we have. And we’ve got some…things…to work through, and we’re living together, with a child, for the first time. We didn’t even date.” 

“Wow,” Ellie said quietly, wondering what that would be like. She forced a certain accented, former undercover agent teammate out of her mind. The waiter came then, and the two woman placed their orders, without really thinking about it. The waiter topped up Ellie’s glass of house white, and Ziva asked for the same. 

“What about you?” Ziva asked, taking a sip of wine when her glass arrived. 

“Relationships? I’m single, for now and the foreseeable future,” Ellie shrugged, trying to sound like she didn’t care, but knowing the other agent would see right through her, “I was married, once,” she hoped that would sidetrack Ziva from the original question. 

“Oh?” Ziva asked, allowing herself to be sidetracked, enjoying the girl talk. It had been a long time since she’d had the luxury. 

“He was a lawyer at the NSA. Still is, I guess. Anyway, it obviously didn’t work out.”

“What happened?” Ziva asked, “If you want to talk about it, I mean…”

“It’s history,” Ellie said, taking another sip of wine, “But once I took on the probationary job at NCIS, we grew distant. We tried to patch things up, make it work, even after an entire summer spent arguing over houses and children. I still wanted to make it work, but soon after I became a full agent, he started cheating on me. I found out. He could’ve still covered it up, but he didn’t. I called it off after that.” 

“Whoa,” Ziva exhaled, “That’s rough.” 

“It was. For awhile there, I didn’t have much of a life outside work and the team. Didn’t really know who I was, except that I was determined to continue doing the job.”

“And what about now?” Ziva asked gently. There food had arrived, and the two women grew quiet as they ate. Ellie eventually put her fork down - she loved the shrimp scampi here - and began to talk, “Despite myself, I fell in love with a coworker, again.” 

“Tony told me about Qasim,” Ziva said sympathetically, so Ellie didn’t have to repeat the story if she didn’t want to. 

Ellie took a deep breath in, and let it out. She hadn’t actually said these words aloud to anyone yet, but Ziva was an easy confidant, “I’ve dated since then, but can’t seem to let myself fall for anyone. Yet I still want children…” She trailed off. 

“Maybe,” Ziva ventured, “There’s a reason you won’t let yourself fall for anyone.” 

“What do you mean?” Ellie asked. Ziva eyed her contemplatively for a few minutes while their plates were cleared away. 

“Is history repeating itself?” Ziva asked softly, “Or, more likely, are you afraid of history repeating itself?” 

Ellie decided it wasn’t worth trying to hide it from Ziva. She would see right through her anyway - apparently already had, “That’s maybe part of it,” she said, “But I also screwed up, Ziva, and I’m not sure Nick even wants a relationship with me anymore.” 

Ziva actually snorted, then controlled herself and managed to tone it down to a smile, “Oh, Ellie. I don’t know what happened, and it’s not my business, but he definitely still wants a relationship with you.” 

The waiter came with their check, and Ziva took it, handing her card over, smiling absently at the young man, still focussed on Ellie, whose eyes were definitely brighter than they had been before “How do you know?” She asked finally. 

“I know,” Ziva hesitated. This was hard for her to admit. It was hard for her to admit that she’d known, long before she had done anything about it, and to think about how much pain could have been avoided, if only, “I know because he looks at you the way Tony used to look at me.” 

“Oh wow,” Ellie said softly. 

“He’s leaving the ball in your field though,” Ziva continued, “He won’t make the first move. You have to.” 

Despite herself, Ellie chuckled, “You mean court,” she said, “The ball in your court.” 

“Americans,” Ziva rolled her eyes, “Why can’t you just say what you mean?”

“That would be too easy,” Ellie laughed, and they got up to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one could have a lot more in it, but I'm trying to keep these at around 1,000 words. Maybe I'll revisit it in another chapter.


	3. Heart to Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie and Nick talk. A lot. About serious things.

“So,” Ellie said, as they sat down to the dinner he had cooked. He’d been living there for six months now, sleeping on the couch at first. They had finally admitted they were together, and had been officially dating for three months, but Nick still hadn’t fully moved out of his own apartment, though Ellie didn’t think he had seen the inside of the place for several months, “When are you going to sublet your apartment?”

Nick put the mouthful of burrito he’d just piled onto a fork down and looked up at her, “I’ve been thinking about it,” he admitted, “I wasn’t sure whether we were ready for that.” 

“I can’t imagine living here now without you though,” Ellie told him quietly, knowing it probably sounded pathetic, but it was the truth. She’d gotten used to having him around, and hated the evenings he was held at work, or the rare occasions he was late at the gym and she was at home. She hadn’t realized that she needed him as much as he needed her. She never fully fell asleep until she felt the weight of him getting into bed next to her. 

“Okay,” Nick said, “So I sublet my place.” 

“So…where does that leave us?” She asked carefully. Ellie knew she’d had a lot to make up where Nick was concerned, and she had spent their summer off active case work earning his trust back, first as a partner, then as a best friend. 

When Nick had shown up at her place late one night, unable to sleep and fighting the urge to drink, they had talked. Really talked, about goals, dreams, each other - he’d admitted when he’d fallen for her, and how hard it had been to hear her question whether he had killed that girl. She’d cried, admitted that she’d known after they had taken care of Cody, how she’d felt about him. She’d avoided it by dating Boyd. He’d cried then too, thinking about all the pain they both could have avoided if they’d been honest with each other from the start. Ellie had gathered him in her arms, and he’d finally whispered to her that he wasn’t ready for a relationship yet. She’d nodded against him, but they’d still fallen asleep together on her couch that night, and he’d actually slept through the night for the first time since the event. He’d kept coming over, and sometimes he’d sleep on the couch, but mostly he’d sleep on the other side of her bed. 

“In a relationship? Officially?” He asked. 

“I want that,” she took both of his hands in hers. She knew it might mean not having kids - she knew Nick hadn’t wanted them, and it was one of the only subjects they hadn’t touched on in their heart to hearts, and something Ellie had purposefully avoided when they’d started dating. But she’d decided, months ago, that he was the most important thing. Kids without him wouldn’t be worth it for her. 

“Okay,” he said, relieved, “Good, because so do I. But El, there’s one other big part of all this we haven’t talked about.” 

“Kids?” Ellie asked. 

“Yeah. I thought you wanted them?” 

“I do,” she said, rubbing her thumb over his hand, “Or, I did. But the thing is, Nick, I don’t want them without you, and I don’t want them if you don’t.” 

“What if I said I did?” He asked softly. 

“I’d want to know what changed.” 

“You changed. And taking care of Cody with you. It made me think that we could have that, together. Long term. You’d be an amazing Mom, Ellie.” 

“And you’d be the best father any kid could want,” she said, “But Nick, I’m not getting any younger. If I have kids, I want it to be in the next few years.” 

“Don’t want to be the oldest mom in the pick up line?” He teased lightly. 

“No,” she said.

“I don’t want to be the oldest Dad at T-Ball either,” Nick told her, and he took a deep breath, “I’m ready when you are, El.” 

“Seriously?” Her whole face lit up, “After three months?” 

“I’ve known you three years, El, and we’ve been living together six months. The whole dating thing is just a label, right?”

“Right,” she said, leaning forward, kissing him, “Okay.” 

“Okay, what?” He gently ended the kiss, cupping her cheeks in his hands. 

“Okay, yes. I want kids, and you, and a family. All of it.”

“A ring?” He asked, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks. 

“When you’re ready,” she said. This time, he sealed it with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is slightly outside the parameters of Summer of 2019, but the events discussed would have taken place during that summer so I'm still counting it.


	4. Brunch Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie finds out something she didn't know about Nick.

It was a picturesque day, so Ellie had agreed to meet a few friends from yoga for brunch on Sunday. They were sitting in a cafe in old town Alexandria, drinking bottomless mimosas and pursuing the menu. Ellie was enjoying Team Gibbs’s summer break, forgetting about secrets, and about her strained relationship with Nick. She hadn’t seen him since the team had gone on break, and had forced herself to keep busy enough to not think about it, too much. Though there were times when she’d get out her phone to text him about something random - something funny she knew he’d appreciate, or to ask him to goat yoga, she’d stopped herself. She knew she had apologizing to do, she knew she’d screwed things up between them, wherever it had been they were headed, and was scared. 

Ellie pushed those thoughts out of her head as she laughed at Lizzy’s latest story about her children, who were currently with their dad. The waiter came and they ordered. Annemarie was now talking about her recent trip to Europe. Ellie forced herself to listen, and make the appropriate comments. She really was interested in the trip - she’d even been thinking about planning something last minute herself before the team went back in August. 

Ellie’s Belgian waffle with strawberries and cream arrived, and Lizzy, as Ellie knew she would, playfully rolled her eyes at her friend, “Only you could eat like that and look like that,” Lizzy said. 

“Hey, I go to the gym,” Ellie told her friend. 

“That reminds me,” Annemarie said, “Did you sign up for the 10k on Chesapeake Bay?”

“I did,” Ellie told her, “And I booked the campsite.” 

“Ooh yay, I’m so excited. Lizzy, you’re coming, right?”

“Yep. David said he’d take care of the kids for the weekend, so I’m golden.” 

“Perfect,” Ellie’s eyes were shining. She really was excited for a girl’s camping weekend.

Suddenly, Ellie felt a prickle at her neck. She turned to the side, and, sitting at a round table on the edge of the cafe, was Nick. The place didn’t seem like his style, and Ellie was curious, but he was alone. His back was to her, so she wondered if he’d even noticed her yet. She forced her attention back to her friends. 

Five minutes later, a dark haired woman sat down in the other chair. Nick got up, greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Ellie felt her hands start shaking, and forced herself to stop. She knew she was being ridiculous. It wasn’t like she had a claim on Nick. She hadn’t even talked to him for the last two weeks. She continued watching though, while talking with her friends as if nothing was amiss.They were turned away from Nick, which was a good thing, because Lizzy would have recognized him straight away from goat yoga.   
Ellie had been practicing her poker face, and that was a good thing too, because the woman had a child with her whom Ellie hadn’t seen when she’d come in. Ellie drew in a breath, because the little girl, who looked about four, was unmistakably Nick’s. The woman’s skin was light, but the child’s was olive, like Nick’s, and even from across the room, Ellie could tell the little girl had Nick’s eyes. 

“So, Ellie, you’ll bring stuff to cook dinners?” Her friends were planning their camping trip. 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Ellie said, “Burgers and steaks, potato salad, a green salad?” 

“Perfect,” Annemarie rubbed her hands together, but Lizzy was eyeing her friend suspiciously. She followed Ellie’s gaze, and immediately saw what Ellie was distracted by. 

“Is that?….” Lizzy trailed off, mouth slightly open. 

“Yeah,” Ellie said, “Yeah, it is.” She was watching as Nick interacted with the child, who had been given a coloring sheet and crayons by a waitress. The woman was looking on, an unreadable expression on her face. 

“Did you know?” Lizzy asked.

“No,” Ellie said, “No, I had no idea.” 

“What’s going on?” Annemarie was watching her two friends, confused, having never met Nick. 

“That,” Lizzy said, jerking her head in the direction of the table and then purposefully looking away, and turning Ellie away too, “Is Ellie’s coworker Nick Torres. Who she’s half in love with.”

Ellie had to bite her tongue, and her face went completely red, “I am not,” she tried. 

“Yes, you are,” Lizzy said, “He went to goat yoga with her,” Lizzy told Annemarie. 

“He put up with goat yoga?” Annemarie asked. 

“And he cancelled her date…” Lizzy continued meaningfully. 

Annemarie’s jaw dropped, “He what?!”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Ellie said, “Okay, well, it was, but he apologized, and said he’d pay for our next dinner.” 

“Did that happen?” 

“No,” Ellie admitted, “No, it didn’t.” 

“There is no way that guy doesn’t have feelings for you,” Lizzy said, and Annemarie nodded in agreement. 

“But that -?” Ellie whispered, nodding in the direction of the table. 

“Doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it does,” Annemarie finished firmly, “Come on, let’s pay and leave.” 

Later that evening, Ellie couldn’t get the image from earlier out of her head. She and Annemarie had window shopped after brunch, Lizzy needing to get back to her kids. They had seen Nick, the woman, and the child again later that afternoon, luckily from a distance, sitting at an ice cream parlor. Nick was helping the kid navigate an ice cream cone, which was already dripping down its side, and the woman was looking on fondly. Ellie sighed inside. She had imagined similar scenes with herself, Nick, and their child. Now, she couldn’t get that scene out of her head. She tried reading, tried watching TV, took a bubble bath with a glass of wine. Now curled up on the couch in her pajamas flipping through channels, Ellie sighed at herself. The doorbell rang, and she started. It was pretty late. 

“Ellie,” a familiar voice said from the other side of the door. Ellie’s stomach clenched, but she opened it. Sure enough, Nick was standing on the other side, a bag of Insomnia Cookies, her favorite, in his hand. 

“Still have room for these after that huge waffle?” He asked. Ellie sighed inwardly. She should’ve known his spy senses wouldn’t have missed her at the cafe. She smiled at him though, and nodded, “Sure,” she said, “I opened a bottle of wine earlier. Want a glass?” 

“Okay,” he agreed, eyeing her carefully, giving her the once over. 

“I’m not drunk,” she knew what he was thinking, “I only had one, in the bathtub.” She saw Nick close his eyes at that, and couldn’t help but let herself smirk a little. She grabbed her glass from earlier, and a clean one for Nick, pouring them each a glass of red. 

“So obviously you know,” Nick said, sitting down at the opposite end of the sofa from her, deciding not to beat around the bush. 

“What do I know?” Ellie asked. 

“You know that I have a daughter.”

“Yeah,” Ellie said, softly, “How did that happen….?” She trailed off, realizing how dumb that question was. Despite himself, Nick laughed, “Okay, obviously that’s not what I meant,” Ellie continued, “But how did I not know?” 

“You didn’t know because I didn’t know until a few weeks ago,” Nick said. 

“Oh?” 

“Remember I was undercover in Buenos Aires before joining the team?” He asked. Ellie nodded. 

“You got in a relationship Jose Silva’s daughter Elena and went rogue to infiltrate his organization,” Ellie remembered. 

“Exactly. Emilia is Elena’s daughter,” Nick said, “They were living in Buenos Aires until this spring, when they were forced to leave for Elena’s safety. David got out of prison,” Nick explained. 

Ellie shuddered, “Is he coming after…you?” She asked. 

“No,” Nick said, “He’s not allowed in the United States, and he’s not that stupid. He won’t come near me, but Elena and Emilia would have been easy targets, especially as Elena is estranged from her family, so when she contacted me, I helped them get out. And found out I had a daughter,” he finished, not being able to help smiling. 

“Wow,” Ellie said, “And you didn’t tell me any of this? When it was happening, I mean? Does Gibbs know? McGee?” 

“Gibbs knows,” Nick said, “McGee doesn’t. And I didn’t tell you because…because…” 

“You don’t trust me,” Ellie finished, her voice breaking a little. 

“No! No, Ellie, it’s not that, I swear. I do trust you.” 

“Even despite…” Ellie finished, then forced herself to continue, “Even despite what I said to you?” 

“Even despite that,” he said, “I’ve talked with Jack a lot since then. I understand why you said what you said, and I don’t blame you for it, and how I feel about you…that hasn’t changed,” he finished softly. 

“Okayyy,” Ellie said, “But doesn’t that kind of have to change now?” 

He scooted closer to Ellie on the couch, carefully gauging her reaction. When she didn’t try to run, Nick took her hand gently in his, started rubbing circles on her thumb. Ellie felt goosebumps prickle all over her skin. 

“Elena and I aren’t together, Ellie,” he said, firmly, continuing the circles, “We never will be, except to both be involved in Emilia’s life. We both agreed we’re better as friends.”   
“Oh,” Ellie said quietly, finally feeling her stomach unclench fully, “So what does that mean…for us?” 

“I guess that depends on you, El. I’m all in. With you, it has to be that way. So, if you need to think about it…” She responded by closing the distance between them, and landing her lips on his. He drew her closer still, wrapped his arms around her, while she reached up, lightly running her fingers over his scalp. She heard him moan, and laughed a little into the kiss. He bit her lower lip in response, and she gasped. Eventually, he gently ended it. 

“I don’t need to think about it,” Ellie said, breathlessly, laughing. 

“Apparently not,” Nick made sure she was settled in close to him, and wrapped an arm around her waist for good measure, “Can we stay like this? For awhile?” He asked. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ellie said, sighing. 

“Happy sigh?” Nick couldn’t help but check. 

“Definitely.”


End file.
